Official MLBlog of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

Game #103 GWN 10 – SWB 6

DATE: July 23, 2012FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Braves Salvage Final Game of Series with 10-6 WinSWB in search of “season sweep” over Gwinnett settles for seven of eight

Lawrenceville, GA – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (57-46) had never swept a season series over an International League opponent in the five plus seasons of the franchise. They had the chance to make SWB Yankees “history” win a win in the series finale Monday night leading the season series over the Gwinnett Braves (47-57) seven games to none. The Braves would have none of it however jumping out to a 6-1 lead through three and picking up a 10-6 win.

Brandon Laird got the Yankees on the scoreboard in the top of the second inning with a two out solo HR off current Gwinnett Brave and former SWB Yankee and Red Baron Eric Junge. Laird’s 10th of the season cleared the wall in left and put the Yankees up 1-0.

Gwinnett answered in the bottom of the first inning tying the game at 1-1 off Yankees starter Mike O’Connor (LP, 2-4) scoring on a fielder’s choice off the bat off Ruben Gotay. With first and third and one down, Gotay’s comebacker look like an inning ending 1-6-3 double play but O’Connor threw high into centerfield and the game was tied up.

The Braves picked up their first lead of the season against the Yankees in 61.2 innings of baseball scoring three in the third inning off O’Connor. A two out walk extended the inning and Jose Yepez picked up an RBI single to right, his second hit of the night scoring Ernesto Mejia giving the Braves a 2-1 lead. Ruben Gotay followed with an RBI single to extend the lead to 3-1. A Laird throwing error on an infield single by Lance Zawadzki scored Yepez for a 4-1 Braves lead.

Back-to-back Gwinnett doubles in the fourth inning off O’Connor ran the lead to 6-1 before SWB Manager Dave Miley went the bullpen. Jack Wilson down from Atlanta on a Major League Rehab led off the inning with a single and scored of the first of the two doubles from Mejia. Stefan Gartrell’s double scored Mejia extending the lead to five. Gartrell was the last batter O’Connor faced leaving after 3.1 innings allowing 10H, six runs, five earned with two walks and three strikeouts throwing 75 pitches.

The Yankees cut the deficit in half with a two out, two run homer from Chris Dickerson, his second of the season. The home run half way up the law section in right field was the second of the season for Dickerson. Junge’s night would be complete following the inning. The former Yankee and Red Baron finished the night with 5.0 innings, allowing five hits three runs (all earned) with one walk and one strikeout.

Gwinnett would answer the Dickerson homer with three in the bottom half of the fifth inning off SWB reliever Preston Claiborne on a three run homer to right from Felix Pie to run the lead to 9-3. The Braves made it 10-3 in the seventh inning scoring a run on a Juan Cedeno wild pitch, after he replaced Claiborne who threw 2.1 innings of two hit, three run relief.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre scored three runs in the eighth inning off Braves reliever Cole McCurry on an RBI double from Corban Joseph, a wild pitch and an RBI ground out to close the scoring out at 10-6.

The Yankees move to Charlotte to open the second portion of the current 10 game road trip with a 7:15 PM first pitch on Tuesday. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has not announced a starter following the trade of D.J. Mitchell (Tuesday’s scheduled starter) to Seattle as part of the Ichiro trade. Right hander Matt Zaleski (3-3, 3.66) is slated to make the start for the Knights.

Porcupines in Pinstripes

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